Ladies of Longford: The Years Gone By, I
by The Andromeda Rose
Summary: Set before the "Adventures" series, & also part of the Ladies' series  inside ...Scarlett lives in Station Square, & meets up with Shadow after an accident. He claims her to be his friend, & tries to get her to remember him.  Will it work?  Or not?


_**Author's Note:**_

_This story is set before "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog & the Mario Bros.," during the time when Scarlett is living with the Thorndykes in Japan, where, after she first arrives, she gets amnesia & is unable to remember anything about her past life except that she's from Italy, & can faintly remember a black & red hedgehog. But when Shadow arrives, she remembers everything in her past life & rebuilds her relationship with Shadow._

**Disclaimer: I do not, not ever will, or happen to own the Mario, or Sonic characters. If I tried to take them, Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo) & Nagi Saka (Sega) would **_**KILL**_** me for them-though I'd love to take that chance! Maybe…**

**I DO own the poem here, & NOBODY is allowed to steal/take/use it in ANY way or form without my permission via PM. That is MY poem! If you take that poem, be prepared to have your worst nightmares come true…**

"**Ask, & ye shall receive [an answer]." quoted from the B-I-B-L-E…the Bible!**

"**Thou shalt not steal." from the Ten Commandments in Exodus, from the Holy Bible (KJV).**

**Okay! On with the story!**

**4 February 2011 update: Oh, I also want to note, that this song has become a part of the "Ladies of Longford Songfic Series" since I constantly use their songs…so this is the first one! Yay! Keep a lookout for the second one, "Fields of Gold" to come soon! (which is today…).**

**Thanks again! & if you Read, please Review! I appreciate good reviews that point out my storyline's errors, & grammatical errors.**

**Andi**

The Ladies of Longford Songfic Series:

Story I: The Years Gone By

By: The Andromeda Rose

_The Years Gone By_

_By: The Andromeda Rose_

_Oh, how the years have gone by, since I last recall your voice in the summer._

_In the time we spent playing games with one another._

_Oh, how have the years gone by; since I last recall your face._

_Early in the springtime, [when] we each had a hiding place._

_Oh, how the years have gone by, with every year we spent playing our summer song;_

_When we allowed our heartstrings & [our] voices, to simply sing along._

_From the years gone by, since I last recall your voice, floating in the years' breeze;_

_Gently gliding from coast to coast, & to the Seven Seas._

_In the years gone by, in Spring, in Summer, in the Autumn, & in Winter,_

_I'll always reminisce you, & [all] the years that are gone after._

"I never thought that this would happen the way it did, but it did. I was camping with my friends & family, & I found a shadow-Shadow the Hedgehog, that is-my favourite character of all in the Sonic Series. I'm Scarlett, or Scarlatto Rosa Macioci to be correct, & I'm going to be fifteen on the 15th of July. I am originally from Italy, but when I was young, I ended up in Japan through a way that I don't know. I live in Station Square, with Christopher Thorndyke, my little adopted brother, & the rest of _lui famiglia_-his family.

Everything in my life was going perfectly, until I got lost in Silver Valley, by myself, during a camping trip with the Sonic Team, & I found Shadow, who was injured in the woods. He told me that he had to take me from this planet to his home planet called Mobius, while claiming that I'm his old friend from fifty years ago aboard ARK.

This is how it all happened…"

Scarlett was walking around the campsite carrying her backpack, which had her sleeping bag attached to it-& not the tent, as she had just realized, "Sonic, can you run back down the trail & see if the tent is there?"

"Sure thing Scarlett! I'll be back in a flash!" the cobalt hedgehog dashed off faster than lightening down the trail & came back a few minutes later carrying the tent, "I found it in the river, but thankfully, the cover protected it. Here." he gave the tent back to the Italian.

"Grazie Sonico."

"No problem!" he flashed his famous thumbs-up & grinned at the Italian girl, "Where're we gonna set up camp? I hope it's not near water by any chance." he added with slight concern in his voice.

"We won't;" began the kitsune, "don't worry Sonic."

"Yeah!" Chris pointed to the lake up ahead, "We're gonna set it up in the woods near the lake, but not _on_ the lake."

"Come on Sonic, I'll race you to that large boulder over there." Amy twisted from side to side in a girly fashion, "Please, Sonic?"

"Ames, I _always_ win!" he looked at her curiously, though he knew the reason for her asking, "Why do you even try?"

Emerald eyes watched as the pink hedgehog averted her gaze down to her feet & looked sad enough to make ice melt, "I know…"

"Ames, if I play fair, will you race me?"

He watched as her jade eyes suddenly looked up in surprise, "Really? Do you _really_ mean that?"

"Of course I do Amy; why wouldn't I have said it?" he paused just long enough for the thought to sink in before continuing, "Ready? On you mark…get set…go!" he stayed right where he was & allowed Amy to get a head start, then slowly caught up with her & stayed at her pace before slowing down slightly when they reached the boulder, "Good job Amy! You beat me! The Fastest Thing Alive was beaten!" he smiled while giving her two thumbs up.

"You let me win that race Sonic." when she blushed, Sonic couldn't help but chuckle, "Thank you." she hugged the blue furred hero.

Instead of backing away, like he'd normally do, he hugged her back, "You're welcome…_Rosie."_

"Hey! My name's not "Rosie" _Sonikku!"_ she playfully tried to get out of his grip, but, since males are stronger than females, she couldn't; he was holding her by the waist. (Now just imagine what _Knuckles_ could do! You'd _never_ get out of his Iron Grip)

"Well, you _are_ pink like a rose Rosie." this comment made Amy blush even redder not only because was she in his grip, being so close to him, but also the fact that he was actually teasing her playfully.

"Sonico, stop flirting with Amy & help me gather some firewood for the fire." teased the Italian, "If you want to have chili dogs that is."

He tried desperately to get rid of the deep red on his cheeks, "Scarlatto! Good grief girl!"

He followed her to the woods & helped her gather the wood for the fire, "Scarlett, why'd you have to do that for? She said that she hasn't been feeling too well during the past couple of days & I was just trying to be kind to her for once."

"& flirt with her too Sonic. Don't go telling me that you don't like her, because I know you _do."_

"That's the first time I've been like that with her for a very long time-when we were on Mobius I think in Westopolis was the last time. & that was four _years_ ago!"

"Uh-huh…then how come I've seen you flirting with her at home? Hmm?"

"I was only trying to help her back up!"

"_While_ holding her in your arms?"

"We got board-& I started spinning around with her in my arms." he tried to ignore Scarlett's snickering in the background.

"Okay, I'll buy that." she shrugged, knowing that Sonic's face was probably redder than a beet, as she picked up a dry, thick stick & placed it in Sonic's arms while he huffed in the background.

"Come on Scarlett, it's getting late & the sky is growing darker by the minute, & I don't want to get caught in the rain."

"Okay." she glanced down at her watch, but it wasn't there, "I'll meet you there in a few minutes; I'm going to see if I can't find my just-lost watch."

"Okay. See you at camp!" he ran off at a slower speed than usual, possibly because he was carrying an armload of wood, or because he wanted to enjoy the scenery _before_ it got wet…or both.

The Italian continued looking around the area for her lost watch. She made her way through the briers to the small, thirty foot, drop-off, that gradually sloped into a very long hill going toward the river they were at earlier. The drop-off, as they had learned earlier, was impossible to climb back up without the right amount of supersonic speed.

With the howl of the wind & the sky growing darker, & lightening beginning to flash at regular intervals, it seemed creepier when she peered over the small thirty foot drop-off to look for the watch.

Thunder crashed & the rain was beginning to pour, _**Now,**_ she thought, _I think I should be returning to the campsite. I can find my watch later. At least it's waterproof so it won't get damaged._ she added on.

She got ready to turn around, when she heard a loud crash of thunder, causing her to jump back slightly & slip & fall down the drop-off & tumbled down the hill into the bushes below & lose consciousness for a few minutes.

When she finally woke up, she had the worst headache & had to face the problem of trying to find a way back up the hill. She sat up & looked about her. Trees, bushes, & ground foliage littered the entire area.

Probably the loudest crash of thunder that night sounded & she heard the sound of what sounded like lightening striking a tree limb & the limb snapping, followed by the distant sound of someone yelling out in pain. She quickly stood up & tried to determine where the sound was coming from, when she heard it again, this time, it came from her right.

She ran in the direction of the sound. Rain was hitting her already throbbing head & mud splashed all about her as she ran, "I hope whoever that was is okay…" she whispered, "& that they aren't too badly injured-or _dead."_

She ran until she found the broken tree limb, "Is someone here? If so, are you okay? Just a simple sound or something will tell me so."

"Mmmmmnnh…" came a very weak response, "H-help…" everything in the voice seemed to fade away.

"Hey! Are you okay? Hello?" no reply, "Don't worry; I'm going to get you out! Just stay still." she worked to remove the branches that covered the body of this person. Who could it be? Could Sonic or one of the others have come out to look for her? No, it couldn't possibly have been; the sounded way too low for any of them, except for-Knuckles! He was the only one of their group who was the "Lone Ranger" as she called him.

"Knuckles? Can you hear me? Is it you Knuckles?" once again, no reply.

She worked & worked, dragging the branches off of the echidna, hoping & praying that he was alright.

Pulling off another slippery, wet branch, Scarlett beheld one of the most shocking sights of her life. Blood. & the body of…_"Shadow…"_ she whispered as she put her hand up to her mouth. Shadow the Hedgehog was lying in a small pool of blood, & he was shivering violently.

"Shadow…" she repeated once again; her brain felt as if it were being overloaded with things that she could barely comprehend _who _was in front of her, "Shadow, are you okay?" he could barely open his eyes, which showed pure shock & fear when he saw her.

"Don't worry Honey," she said trying to soothe the frightened hedgehog while slowly approaching him, "I'm not going to hurt you-I'm going to help you Shadow." she felt his forehead, & there was raging temperature so hot, that it looked as if the rain was turning into steam & gently evaporating from his body, "I'm going to take you to those pine trees, okay? There we'll be able to keep dry & I'll be able to help you."

He slowly moved his hand & etched in the mud the letters, "OK."

She gently picked him up & carried him to the pine trees where she built a small fire to keep them warm & to see what she was doing. She turned to the black hedgehog who lay beside her, watching her, "You look worse than I thought…your body is covered in cuts & bruises Shadow!" he watched as she pulled a white sheet from her backpack…the backpack she thought she just decided to keep with her since they didn't exactly know where their campsite was going to be for that day, "By the way, my name is Scarlatto, but in English it means "Scarlett." " she tore some of the sheet apart to make bandages for his cuts.

He struggled to speak, & when he did, his voice sounded hoarse, & it sounded like he was in pain. "I used to know an Italian with that same name."

"Really? I thought that you only knew Maria & a few of the scientists."

"Long story." apparently, she knew something about him, but shoved that to the side, "The Professor found her when he was in Italy gathering supplies & he took her in because she was an orphan." he tore his gaze from Scarlett & looked to the fire, "She died a few hours after the G.U.N. incident when Maria died."

"I'm so sorry to hear that Shadow."

"It's okay, she is-nevermind." he looked to the fire sadly.

Scarlett gently cocked her head to one side at Shadow's curious behaviour, "Was she really close to you?"

"Very. In fact, she was closer to me than Maria was. She was like a mother to me most of the time, & other times she was like a sister."

"Sega never said anything about your friend Scarlett. I wonder why they never did."

"Because they needed to choose one of the two girls to be my closest friend, & they thought that Maria came closer to being my friend…& it seemed to match the storyline better, with Maria having NIDS & me being created to help rid her of that disease & all…"

"Isn't she your best friend?"

"Yes, she is, but Scarlett is different." he laid his throbbing head back down on the blanket Scarlett gave to him & moaned.

"You okay? Are you feeling worse?"

"If this headache would just go away…" he sighed, "I might just be able to get some sleep tonight."

"Let me feel your forehead again…" she placed her hand on his forehead, the temperature seemed to be going back to normal, "Your temperature is better than it was earlier."

"Good. That means that I can lead you back to your camp in the morning & be on my way." he looked up at Scarlett, who now sat beside the pine tree's trunk a few feet away, "Who're your parents?"

"I don't have any except the Thorndykes. All I know about my parents is that they might be somewhere here in Japan, or Italy-maybe."

"What are their names? Maybe if I run into them, I can direct them to you."

She didn't know why he was being so kind to her, but decided that because she helped him, that he would help her, "I don't know their first names, or what they look like, except for their last name-Macioci."

"_Ma-Macioci?"_

"Sì, what's wrong with that?"

"Scarlett, what's your middle name? & when were you born? Was it the 15th of June-in-in the 1940's?"

"Yes, I was born on the fifteenth of July 1945-at least that's what my birth certificate claims, & my full name is Scarlatto Rosa Macioci."

"Scarlatto Rosa Macioci?" he said her Italian name fluently, "That's your full name?"

"Sì, it is. Why? Shadow, does this have anything to do with _your_ Scarlett?"

_It all makes sense now…but how could she have died? Unless it was all a mixup…why does she look so much like Scarlett in the pictures she showed me of when she was younger? But the pictures didn't look too different from her as an adult-they looked the same…But, if this is Scarlett, then why doesn't she remember me? Unless if the…_the sound of fingers snapping broke his train of thought.

"Shadow! Shadow, didn't you hear me? I asked you if this has anything to do with your friend."

"Scarlett, I'm sorry." when he looked at Scarlett's shocked expression, he gave a "What?" type of look, "What are you looking at me like that for Scarlett?"

"Y-you actually said that you're sorry? Shadow, are you sure that that limb didn't give you amnesia or make you nuts or something when you hit it?"

"Scarlett, don't play games! I meant what I said." he paused & glanced back up at her, "Do you have a letter addressed to you about your twenty-first birthday? It talked about a box & something that was cobalt-your favourite colour, in your closet."

"I…do-how'd you know that?"

"Nevermind that right now. Do you have it with you?"

"Sì, I always keep it with me because I somehow felt that it's special in a way." she unzipped one of the pockets in her backpack & pulled out a browned letter, "Is this it? Wait, let me see your own handwriting first." she opened her notebook & a pen, & gave them to him, "Write your name, my name, the words "Professor," "First," & "Maria." & capitalize the first letter of each."

"Okay." without arguing, he wrote down all that she requested, his name, her name, "Professor," "First," & "Maria."

He gave the notebook back to her & waited patiently while she compared them to the words on the letter," "First" matches up perfectly, & so do the rest." the "F's" looked like a regular right-side-up "j" with an upside-down "j" over top of it-or like an long oval with the left side taken out so it looks like a lengthened, backwards "C." Or like a vertical, backwards "c" that was stretched midway in between the lines, to just below the line, like a lowercase "j" does, & it also had a line going through it in the middle. She glanced back to the letter. It read,

"_Dear Scarlett,Don't open the box under this letter just yet! Read this letter first. First of all, I want to wish you a happy twenty-first birthday, & second, after you open the box, come to the Professor's laboratory-we've made a discovery last night & we thought you'd be interested. Have a happy birthday!_

_Your best friend,ShadowP.S. Check your closet for something that's your favourite colour-cobalt-& don't forget your present in the box too!Shadow"_

"Shadow, how did you know that I had his letter?"

"The same way that I knew that that letter was attached to the red velvet box with the ruby ring set in gold inside it. Rubies are your favourite gems, & besides, the ruby is the birthstone for July. I bought you that ring for your birthday."

"I don't know how you know this Shadow, but I couldn't possibly be _your_ Scarlett."

"Scarlatto, it all matches up! Don't you see? The ring, your name, your birthday, my handwriting-everything! It all comes back to you being Scarlett! I don't know how you changed to being so young from when I remember you."

"Shadow-"

"Scarlett, look at your right hand. There's the proof! That's the ring that I bought you for your birthday. Look on the inside of the band."

She glanced down at her ring & slipped it off, & noticed the inscription that she had never noticed before was on there. It said, "To, Scarlett on your 21st birthday. Love, Shadow."

Suddenly, all of the memories flooded back into her mind after over many years. The time when she & Shadow were playing hide & seek, tag, when she was holding him while he was getting a shot, there was another time when she was playing with both Shadow & Maria in a game of Tiddlywinks…all of those memories just flew back…everything…

"Shadow? How…you…me…the ring…how Shadow? How?" her eyes began to fill up with tears as reality hit her, "Shadow? It's you! Oh, Shadow, I'm so sorry!" she hugged him tightly.

"Scarlett," he whispered as his own eyes began to tear up too, "shh…it's okay. I forgive you…" he held her close & rubbed his friend's back soothingly, "I can't tell you how much I've missed you Scarlett. I thought that you were dead-but you're here in my arms! & you're right here in front of me."

"Sì, I can remember everything now. I remember how I got off of ARK."

"How?"

"I took the time traveling capsule that the Professor was working on & I ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom, where I was set back to five years old, & Luigi took me in & treated me as his own daughter. Then, after I turned fifteen, Mario was taking me along on one his adventures, but I took the wrong Pipe Warp, & ended up in Station Square, where I got amnesia because when the Pipe Warp spat me out, I lost my balance & hit my head hard on the ground-& I was set back to five years again. & now, here I am with you Shadow." she pulled him onto her lap, "I've missed you too. Oh, just wait until the others hear about this! Golly! Are they going to be surprised to hear that I'm coming back to their world! I'm going to be able to stay with you Shadow, & nothing will separate us again. Shadow, will you promise me that no matter _what, __**nothing**_ will separate us-no matter _what_ it is?"

"I promise. I cross my heart my heart & hope to die." he did the actions of crossing his heart, "Now, Scarlett, do _you_ promise me that _nothing_ will separate us?"

"Sì. I cross _my_ heart & hope to die if I break this promise." she too crossed her heart, making that promise solemn between the two, "I love you Shadow."

"I love you too Scarlett. What do you say, we get some sleep eh? It's getting pretty late." he glanced outside the pine trees when a loud crash of thunder sounded, causing Scarlett to jump towards Shadow, huddling up against him, "I forgot that you have astraphobia." he wrapped his arm around her, "You okay? You want to sleep next to me tonight?"

"Can I?"

He nodded his head as he wrapped the blanket around them, "Sure. Now you get some sleep; I'll stand guard for a while."

She nodded her head as she snuggled closer to his warm, furry body, "Grazie Shadow."

"Prego Scarlatto, prego."

When Scarlett awoke the next morning, she found that she was laying next to something soft, warm & _spiky!_

She opened her eyes & saw Shadow snuggled up against her for warmth, _I forgot that he likes to snuggle._ she gently stroked his fur & pulled him closer to her, where he reached out for whatever was pulling him & tried to pull himself back to his spot, _How on Earth can hedgehogs sleep on this cold, hard ground? I had enough trouble trying to fall asleep last night! I guess they get used to it after a while._

The black hedgehog, waking up from rolling onto a sharp rock, looked around & noticed Scarlett beside him, "What time is it?"

"About six o'clock."

"We'd better be getting back to your campsite."

"Shadow, I've been thinking about this, & I don't really want to go back, I want to stay with you; I haven't seen you in only God knows how long & I'd like to stay with you."

"Scarlett, you have to go back to your family; you couldn't stay with me-besides, they need you."

"Shadow, I've already thought about the consequences of leaving their family, & there aren't too many that would affect them & I."

"Scarlett, are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. We'll just tell them that I'm going to stay with you until we meet up with them again, & then I'll stay with them for a week or so, & come back to you. Or something like that."

"Scarlett-" he sighed & gave up, "Alright, let's get going." he grabbed her hand & pulled out his Green Chaos Emerald, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

A very bright light lit up the early morning sky, "What was that?" the kitsune looked up from his blueprinted page & looked in the direction of the light.

In the distant forest, the figure of a black hedgehog stood, "It looks like Shadow-& he's got Scarlett!" "What?" irritated, Sonic raced after the Black Blur.

In a fraction of a second, Sonic caught up to Scarlett & Shadow, "What do you think you're doing with her? Put her down _now!"_

"I'm only trying to get Scarlett back to her campsite."

He looked to the Italian standing next to the black hedgehog, "Scarlett, you told him your name?"

"Why shouldn't I? He's my friend." she defended the other.

"Friend my foot! _**You,"**_ he addressed the black hedgehog harshly, _"you_ let her go right now! Or I'm going to take her from you by force."

The black hedgehog gently pulled the Italian around to in front of him, when, as soon as she was within reach of Sonic, he immediately ran over to her, scooped her up, & ran off with her in his arms in the direction of the mountains in the distance.

"I knew I shouldn't have left you alone last night! He captured you! & he made you think that he was your friend!" he glanced over to the Italian girl he held in his arms, "Did he hurt or do anything to you? If he did, he's gonna get a major punch to the jaw by ol' Knuckles when I can find him."

"Sonic, no, he didn't hurt me or do anything to me. I know he wouldn't do anything like _that_ to me. He's my best friend."

"_Friend?_ He's not your "friend!" He's just after the Chaos Emeralds & nothing else!"

"Sonic, he's my friend; I raised him on when I was on ARK."

"Wait, I thought you said that you have amnesia."

"I did, until last night. He told me everything about when I was on ARK & things, & he even showed me the inscription on this ring that he gave me on my 21st birthday."

"You're the same age as I am-_fifteen."_

"I was born in 1945, Sonic."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not." she tried to push herself up in Sonic's arms & look him in the eye, "Sonic, please stop. Otherwise I'll never forgive you."

He looked at her rather surprised by what she said, "You wouldn't do that. Would you?"

"Oh, yes, I would Sonic the Hedgehog. Now. Put. Me. _Down."_

"Alright. Alright, Scarlett! I'm stopping…"

"_&_ put me down?" she crossed her arms.

"_&_ put you down." he sighed & let her down on the ground.

"Shadow! Shadow!" she cried.

Sonic watched as she turned around to face not the lake they _were_ at, but a really large meadow. She quickly started to panic & run in the direction from which they came.

"Scarlett!" the blue hedgehog caught up to her, "Scarlett, you won't get back before dark-even if you run you wouldn't be able to."

"How far did you take me?"

He smiled rather embarrassed, "Well…I…didn't really mean to…" he rubbed the back of his head, "we're at least several hundreds of miles away from camp."

"Sonico! You & your speed!" her Italian temper started to flair up a little, "Sonico, please, take me back to Shadow; from there, I'll work it out. Please, Sonic. Per favore? This is really important that I go back to Shadow. He needs me, & I need him."

"Scarlett, I don't know…"

"Please, Sonic, I made him a promise, & this is the most important promise we've ever made to each other." she pleaded, "Please."

"Well…alright. If you put it that way, I guess so. But if-" he was soon bombarded with one of the biggest bear hugs he had ever gotten in his life.

"Grazie! Grazie mille Sonico! Grazie mille!" she hugged him tightly, & almost began to cry.

He couldn't help himself! There he was, with an Italian-style hug, & being thanked for doing her a favour: taking her back to his enemy, "Scarlett! Scarlett!" he tried to gently pry her away from his body. Now, with her attention, he spoke to her with a firmness in his voice, "Scarlett, but if he tries _anything_ with you, or tries to capture you, or take the Chaos Emeralds, you're coming right back with me. Understand?" she was just about to open her mouth when he added on, "& no "if's" "an's" or "but's" about it. You hear me?"

"Sì, Sonico."

"Alright, now get on my back, & we'll head back to where we left Shadow." he gently grasped her hand & pulled her onto his back & started running back to the lake.

Once they got there, they found that Shadow was sitting on a log which was near the lake. He seemed to be throwing rocks into the lake when they got a better view of him.

"Shadow!" the Italian girl ran up to her beloved friend, "Shadow!"

He looked up to see her running towards him. He quickly stood up & attempted to run toward her too, "Scarlett! Where'd you go? One minute you're standing beside me, & the next thing I know was that you & the blue hedgehog were gone."

Sonic watched from where he stood about twenty yards back. Now, when he watched the two, it made him realize something that was different about them. Had they met before? Were they very close friends? Lovers perhaps? She did mention something about a promise. But, what kind of a promise? Whatever they were, he somehow knew that they couldn't be separated-they had that strange, rare bond that occurs between some people…like him & Tails for instance, _nothing_ could separate them.

He watched as they finally came out of their embrace, & now, Scarlett was talking to him about something. She pointed to Sonic, who was behind them, & they spoke some more. After a few more seconds of talking with one another, they both started to walk towards him.

As they walked toward the blue hedgehog, Sonic noticed that Shadow didn't have any shoes on, & that he had a _very_ bad limp when he walked.

"Sonic, we need to talk to you & the others about me & Shadow."

"You…& Shadow?" he raised one of his eyebrows at this last statement. Maybe, they were, in fact, lovers?

"Sì. Now where'd you set up camp eh? We want everyone to hear this too."

"Camp is across the lake." he used his thumb to point behind him & to their campsite.

"Good. Now let's go find them."

The group started walking back toward the camp.

When Shadow tripped over his own two feet because of his limp, Scarlett couldn't help but smile at the black hedgehog, "Shadow, did you put your shoes on this morning before we left?"

"No, I left them back somewhere at the lake; I wanted to see if I could walk without them today."

"Shadow, you know that you can't walk correctly without them. Remember what happened? The doctors said that you'd have to use the shoes the Professor made for you."

"I know. I'll go find them." once again, he pulled out his Green Chaos Emerald, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

The blue hedgehog watched as he disappeared in a puff of light, "Scarlett, I don't understand. Is he okay?"

"He has a medical condition that prevents him from walking normally."

"Oh…so that's why he limps so badly?"

"Sì." she & the hedgehog walking beside her, glanced behind them when they heard a sonic boom sound throughout the valley, "Sonic, please don't tell anyone about what I told you. Shadow tends to get upset whenever someone talks about the subject."

"I won't. I promise."

"Grazie." just then, a gold streak zipped by them & headed for the mountains where Sonic & Scarlett were earlier, then made a sharp turn & came back the other way towards them & skidded to a halt, "Well, Shadow, I see that you're feeling better now since the branch landed on top of you last night."

"I just have a few bruises here & there. It's nothing to be worried about."

"What about that headache you had last night? Hmm?"

"It's gone now."

"Beh! I wouldn't think so. Considering that you passed us by just a moment ago…"

"I just wanted to skate around for a minute."

"Come on you guys, let's go." Sonic tried to pick up the slow pace.

"Alright Sonic, we're coming." she then turned to the black hedgehog, "I'll race you! Come on; first one to the campsite gets to choose where we sleep tonight."

"That's not fair!" he argued back, "You already know where your camp is."

"No I don't. When Sonic & I left to gather some firewood last night, we hadn't set up camp yet. So I don't have a clue on where it's at." she shrugged.

"Alright. On your mark…get set…" he glanced to the Italian, "Via!" he started running, leaving the Italian behind. She stood at the spot that they were before, "Well, are you going to stand there or are you going to start running?" he called back to her.

"I'm coming! I'd half expected you to say "go" not "via!" " she soon caught up to the hedgehog.

"But I switched them-& I thought you knew Italian." he laughed.

"I _do_ know Italian Shadow! I'm Italian for Pete's Sake!"

"I know you are, but you still didn't recognize the word!" he laughed once more.

"Oh, Shadow!"

Sonic watched as the two ran alongside of each other, looking every which way for the campsite. This time, he didn't really mind walking instead of running; he didn't want to spoil their fun by barging in, & that he should let the two spend as much time as they wanted to together. He chuckled as he watched as they teased each other as they ran alongside of the other. He shook his head & smiled, _I've never seen Scarlett this playful before. I mean, she's been really playful in the past, but not as much as she is now. She looks so happy to be with Shadow, & he with her._

The three arrived at the campsite where they were greeted with odd faces from everybody, "Hiya, Scarlett!" the kitsune ran up to greet his friend.

"Ciao, Tails."

"We were worried about you Ms. Macioci." Mr. Tanaka, the only one besides, Ella, & Cream who would address you like that. To tell you the truth, it felt good to know that there were people were worried about you instead of not worried-those people who cared.

"Yeah, Scarlett, I tried looking for you back where I left you, but you were gone!"

"Grazie mille guys." she hugged them all, "Now, before I continue, I'd like you guys to meet my best friend-Shadow."

"I thought I'd recognized you!" Tails exclaimed.

"Yeah, I remember now." Amy smiled at the black hedgehog, "Hi, Shadow! Long time, no see eh?"

"Correct, Rose." at this comment, Amy blushed fiercely while the blue hedgehog standing alongside of Tails, became insanely jealous.

"Her name's _Amy,_ not "Rose." " he said rather rudely to the black hedgehog.

"& a rose she is." he smiled at her & attempted to flirt gently with Amy, that is, until she became slightly uneasy because she was flirting with someone else besides Sonic.

At this, Sonic pushed Shadow away from Amy, & put himself between the two to protect her from the black hedgehog, "You leave my little sister alone!"

_This_ took Shadow by surprise knowing the fact that Amy was Sonic's little sister. & boy, when you have a big brother protecting his little sister, you _don't_ want to interfere.

"Okay! Okay!" he held his hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that."

"Guys," Scarlett tried to begin again, "I have Shadow with me because I want to speak with you guys about him & I."

"You & Shadow?" the fox kit cocked his head & looked at the two curiously as Sonic had done before.

"Sì. You see, while I was looking for my watch last night, I tripped & fell down that drop-off that Sonic & I found. I then heard a branch breaking &, Shadow crying out in pain. At first, I thought it was Knuckles, since he wanders alone throughout areas like these, but as I was removing the branches from "Knuckles," I discovered Shadow pretty badly injured." she glanced to her friends on the other side of the fire, across from her, "I told him that I'd help him & care for his wounds, so I took him over to the pine trees, where, I learned more about him & his past life. After a while, he asked me who my parents were & I told him that they were Maciocis. He asked me if I was born on the fifteenth of July in the 1940's. &, I answered that according to my birth certificate, I am-which never made any sense until now…"

"Wait, Scarlett, I don't understand." Chris began, "I thought that you had amnesia?"

"I did Chris, but when Shadow put all the facts in front of me, pointing out the engraving on my ring, which says, "To, Scarlett, on your 21st birthday. Love, Shadow." it made all the difference! You see, when I saw that, every memory of when I was on ARK came flooding back to me! I can remember the time in Nate's Kitchen, when Shadow & Maria snuck in to eat the leftover frosting from the convention they had going on earlier that day. & boy! Did they both look cute with all that icing on their faces! Shadow looked liked he had a white beard & mustache like Zio Mario!"

"Who's he?" something seemed to click vaguely in the blue hedgehog's mind.

"Mia Zio Mario? He's my adopted uncle. He, & my Padre, Luigi, found me after I came out of a Pipe Warp."

Now, _both_ of his eyebrows raised up higher than their arches, "Mario & Luigi Mario?"

"Sì."

"Are they who I think they are?"

"Who?"

"The Mario Brothers! That's who! They live in the Mushroom Kingdom with Princess Peach & Daisy."

"Oh, you know them?"

"Know them?" he scoffed, "They rival me in games & such!"

"Really? So have you ever met them?"

"Yeah. When we were at the Tri-Galaxy Awards for best games."

"What year was that?"

"1992. The same year I found Tails, & when we went our first adventure together. Remember lil' bro.?"

Scarlett's face lit up when he said that, "I was there! I was sitting in the second row with Luigi."

"Were you in a pair of jeans with that blue floral top?"

"Sì! That was me!"

"I remember meeting you! When I went to congratulate the Marios on their Best Music Award! Remember?"

"Sì, sì! I remember! It's been such a long time…you were eleven back then weren't you?"

"You bet I was. & you were how old? Thirteen I think."

"It was in late fall…definitely! & Miles was sooo cute back then! Just three years old! He was the cutest fox cub I'd ever seen before in my life!"

"I was three & a half when Sonic found me, & when we were at the awards." the kit interjected, holding three fingers, & trying to do the half.

"So you guys have met before?" the black hedgehog asked.

"Yeah! That was just about 15 years ago no? That was the last time my age changed & when I arrived here in Station Square." she glanced to Sonic then to Shadow, "Wait, we're getting off the subject here. Now, we came to talk to you guys about me leaving the family for a while so I can spend some time with Shadow. I haven't seen him in over fifty years! & I'd like to spend time with him if your parents don't mind me leaving for a while."

Chris glanced to Mr. Tanaka & Ella, then back to Scarlett, "Scarlett, how long do you plan on being gone?"

"For about three or four weeks or so."

"Aw…Scarlett, I'm gonna miss you being here to play with & stuff."

"Yeah, Scarlett, we're gonna miss you too." Amy looked rather sad at the thought of Scarlett being gone that long.

"Yeah." the fox kit whined.

"Guys," Sonic began, "we've spent a lot of time with Scarlett during the past six months or so, so I think we should let her spend some time with Shadow if she wants to; they haven't seen each other for over five _decades!_ That's _fifty years._ Imagine us not seeing each other for a couple of weeks. We'd miss each other like crazy! These guys…" he smiled warmly as he glanced to the hedgehog & human sitting next to him, "they've probably gone insane not seeing the other. You understand what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sorry Scarlett & Shadow, we should have thought about your feelings instead of ours."

"Yeah, I'm sorry you guys."

"Yeah, we're really sorry."

"It's okay guys, I understand. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't get to be around you guys either."

Mr. Tanaka added more wood to the fire, "Ms. Scarlett, when would you & Mr. Shadow like to leave? I could take you back to the Train Station today if you like."

"Go on Scarlett," the others urged, "we've been on plenty of other camping trips before."

She & Shadow looked to each other, then back to the group, "Really?"

"Sure."

"Grazie guys!"

"Yeah, thanks!" for the first time, since the rest of the Gang had met Shadow, he actually smiled genuinely, "We really appreciate this!"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Ms. Scarlett, Mr. Shadow, come, & I'll take you to the Station Square Train Station."

"That won't be necessary Mr. Tanaka," Shadow reached for Scarlett's backpack, then her hand, "she can ride on my back to wherever we want to go. Right Scarlatto?"

"& a _fast_ ride it is too!" she hugged the others goodbye before Shadow once again gently grasped her hand & pulled her onto his back, "Ciao!" she waved to them just before they took off, "We'll see you in a few weeks!"

"See you later guys!"

"Bye!"

"See ya!" & many mores goodbyes were said as a golden blur left the camp.

As Sonic & the others watched as they left, Amy couldn't help but remain curious on as to why Sonic said what he said to Shadow, "Sonic," she asked the cobalt blue hedgehog, "why did you say that I'm your sister? You know that's not true."

"Ames, I'm sorry;" he sat down next to her on the log, "it's just that you remind me so much of my own little sister, Sonia. She's…been through some really tough times with guys & she's been hurt pretty badly by some of 'em. Amy, you're so sweet, & kind, & I don't want to see you being treated like that." he spoke gently to her, & hugged her with his one arm, "You're my little sister, & I love you just like I do my own sister, & I don't want to see you hurt like I've seen Sonia."

This short speech that Sonic gave, had took her by surprise by the way he feels for her: "I love you, but as a sister, & I want to protect you." is what he said in so many words. It upset her very much, but at the same time, she knew that she would always have her "big brother" around whenever she needs to talk to someone…& that made her feel better-but that still didn't mean that she would give up on him, though, she goes on to date Shadow, Silver, & Sonic's brother, Manic, a few times.

"Sonic, you…really mean that?"

"Very much Ames." he gently pulled her closer to him & hugged her, "You know what? You're a _definitely_ going to make some guy happy some day when you have your own kids." (be careful what you say Sonic…)

"Thank you Sonic." she blushed, & hugged him back, "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome Ames-my little sis." he nuzzled his muzzle affectionately against Amy's.

After Shadow & Scarlett had left the camp, they climbed up the hill, above the lake in the mountains, they began walking. Scarlett picked a blue forget-me-not, & the little flower, which was once alone, soon turned into a lovely bouquet of those as well as many other flowers. While enjoying the scenery, & they talked, & they shared their secrets with one another as they had done before on the ARK as they walked deeper into the forests of Japan.

After several hours of walking, they arrived at a large, grassy meadow. They stopped here & lay down on the grass & watched the clouds gently glide across the sky.

"Shadow," Scarlett began, pointing to the sky above them. It was the most beautiful blue they had ever seen before in their lives…"have you ever seen blue like that before?"

"I never saw blue like that before, across the sky, or around the world. Scarlett," he turned over on his side to face the Italian, "you've given me all you have & more, & no else has ever shown me the how, to see the world the I see it now…I've never saw blue like that before." he looked back up to the sky, "I can't believe, that, a month ago, I was alone, I felt as if I didn't know you anymore; I haven't seen you or heard your name. & even now, I'm so amazed, it's like a dream, it's like a rainbow, it's like the rain. Some things are the way they are, & words just can't explain…'cause I never saw blue like that before. & it feels like now, & it feels always, & it feels like coming home…oh, I…I've never seen blue like that before…"

Anyway, as for Scarlett & Shadow, stuck with each other as long as they could-keeping to their promise, all the way up until the present-a little over five years later, where her last age change happens & she's once again, fifteen.

"Never Saw Blue Like That Before"

By: The Ladies of Longford (a contemporary Celtic group here in Ohio)

Today we took a walk up the streetPicked a flower, climbed the hillAbove the lake& secret thoughts were said aloudWe watched the faces in the clouds'Til the clouds had blown away& were we ever somewhere elseYou know, it's hard to say& I never saw blue like that beforeAcross the sky, around the worldYou've given me all you have & more& no one else has ever shown me howTo see the world, the way I see it nowOh, I, I never saw blue like that beforeI can't believe a month ago, I was aloneI didn't know you, I hadn't seenOr heard you're name& even now, I'm so amazedIt's like a dream, it's like a rainbowIt's like the rain& some things are the way they are& words just can't explain'Cause I never saw blue like that beforeAcross the sky, around the worldYou've given me all you have & more& no one else has ever shown me howTo see the world the way I see it nowOh, I, I never saw blue like that before

& it feels like now & it feels always& it feels like coming homeNever saw blue like that beforeAcross the sky, around the worldYou've given me all you have & more& no one else has ever shown me howTo see the world the way I see it nowOh, I, I never saw blue like that beforeOh, I, I never saw blue like that

**Okay guys! Please hang in there with me! I know I talk a LOT. This is my first ever Author's Review/Update thingy! Yay! Okay, as for me, there's not much going on with me except my 16****th**** birthday came on the 27****th**** of September! YES! It's not too much different from being 15…Beh!**

**Also, I know the story sounds like a romantic relationship between Scarlett & Shadow-that is not intended. I put my poem & the song in there to describe emotion for everyone in the fic. Sorry if I messed you guys up. ^^º**

**Okay, so here's the story's info:**

**Started: 4****th**** of September 2010**

**Finished: 30****th**** of October 2010**

**I procrastinated…I'm sorry. It usually takes me at least 2-3 weeks to write ten pages-& this is ten pages.**

**The Ladies of Longford, I'm sure, if you search them on Youtube, &/or search on Yahoo! you might be able to find the song. By the way, Heather Fraser sings solo even though the group has got more ladies in there.**

_**One last thing before I sign off: I thank my Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ, for helping me with my stories. Without Him, I wouldn't be here right now.**_

_**Thank you Jesus!**_

**Anyways, thanks for reading!**

**The Andromeda Rose**


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